Real Rabbi NYC Juliet Elkind-Cruz

I’m more than a little bit worried about Passover this year due to the current events in Israel and Gaza. My own family is divided in terms of political opinions over this, and there’s a fair amount of tension around it. I’m sure I’m not alone. As it is, Passover gatherings can be fraught, as any family gathering, but especially when we’re used to bringing in current events to our Seder discussions. So how DO we? And what’s it got to do with the Parsha this week (if you care). Happy Passover to everyone, and Good Shabbos.

Just listen. There’s a lot here.

This time I share a beautiful poem and some thoughts about how it might be connected to the parsha, and I ask for your thoughts on how they might be linked.

Facing death with dignity, standing up for the right to do that and to be treated with care can be one of the hardest things, especially when doctors and family and friends intervene. What does Judaism have to say about this, and how do we live our highest values?

I officiated at a memorial service this week for a man who died too young of brain cancer. There were many lessons to be learned from the way he lived and the way he chose to die. Wittingly or unwittingly, he made mistakes. This week Torah tells us how to make expiation for our wrongdoings, but really stays on the surface. I go deep with this one—as I always intend. Take a listen!

Carlton Pearson was an Evangelical preacher turned heretic for preaching that hell is a human invention—one we don’t need any help creating for ourselves. He began preaching of a loving God of inclusion. I wonder how this lesson applies to me, or to us. I wonder how we as Jews are becoming the haters we accuse others of being.